No Fear

Meditations on the Psalms

August 9, 2022

No Fear

“I live with integrity. So redeem me and show me mercy. Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the Lord”

Psalm 26:11-12

That there will be a great day of accounting where all people will be judged by God is the theme of the Old and New Testaments. In Psalm 26, David presents himself to God in anticipation that his life will be vindicated. David was trusting in his integrity as well as the faithfulness and mercy of God. This vindication called forth a desire to worship God, which led David to plead for God’s protection. David ends the psalm resting in the assurance of God’s care.

David was called by the grace of God and anointed by God to be King. He knew God’s favor and sought to present his life as one who followed the ways of God. Today, the followers of Jesus have been saved by the grace of God and anointed by God to be the children of God. Our mission is to present ourselves as those who have experienced a Great Awakening and have turned our lives from sin to God.

David’s plea for vindication rested entirely on God. It was God who, by grace, called and anointed David. It was God who showed David the way of life and gave David the capacity to live for God. It was the complete trustworthiness of God that would vindicate David.

My Takeaway: As the followers of Jesus, our vindication rests entirely on the faithfulness of Jesus. Through our faith in Jesus, it is God who shows us the way of life and gives us the capacity to live for God. Yes, there will be a great day of accounting where all people will be judged by God. Because it is the complete trustworthiness of God that vindicates us, we should have no fear of that day! 

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Exercise Integrity at the Moment of Decision

Meditations on the Psalms 

August 8, 2022

Exercise Integrity at the Moment of Decision

 

Lead me by your truth and teach me,

for you are the God who saves me.

All day long I put my hope in you.

Psalm 25:5

Like Psalm 9, Psalm 25, in its original form, was written in the acrostic poetic form with the first verse beginning with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; each succeeding verse began with the next letter in the alphabet. The careful composition of the psalm suggests David, the traditionally accepted author, wrote the psalm as an aid to discipleship. (This is similar in purpose to such things as the ACTS acrostic for prayer: Adoration; Confession; Thanksgiving; Supplication.)

In the orthodox tradition, this psalm is used as a prayer at the beginning of a workday. The opening lines, “O Lord, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God!” are in the same form as the versicle used so often in the church today:

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

In his acrostic form, the psalmist moves from calling out to God, to a plea for mercy coupled with a confession of sin. Affirming the character of God, he then affirms the character of God’s disciples. In his closing plea for deliverance, the psalmist affirms his belief that staying in a right relationship with God will be his protection: “May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you” (Psalm 25:21).

My Takeaway: David crafted Psalm 25 as an aid to his spiritual growth so that he would learn to exercise integrity at every moment of decision. John Wesley called this scriptural holiness, walking in harmony with God. Like David and John Wesley, we too can learn to exercise integrity at the moment of decision by grounding our lives in God’s Word.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Heart Of Worship

Meditations on the Psalms

August 5, 2022

The Heart Of Worship

Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?

Who may stand in his holy place?

Psalm 24:3

What does worship mean to you? Generally, people tend to think of worship as an expression of adoration, praise and love to God. Certainly, such expressions are included within worship, but does that understanding truly get to the heart of worship? Perhaps we should first ask, why do we worship; what is the purpose, or goal, of worship?

Biblical worship, especially the worship described in the Book of Psalms, has but one purpose: to enter into the presence of God. When we experience the presence of God, our lives are healed and made whole, and we experience the transformation the Apostle Paul described in 2 Corinthians 3. (See my meditation on Psalm 23, August 4.)  Psalm 24 helps us understand how we may enter into the presence of God.

Psalm 24 begins with a Call to Worship, an Affirmation of Faith. The psalmist then renews his understanding of the quality of a life that is in right-standing with God. These characteristics are an invitation for confession of sin. Only then does the psalmist welcome God’s glory to encompass him (Psalm 24:7-10).

As we think about the steps the psalmist took to experience God’s glory, let’s return to the first question: what is worship? When the Bible describes worship, the people are bowing down; they are kneeling, in reverence and submission to God.

“Come, let us worship and bow down.

Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God.

We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.”

Psalm 95:6-7

My Takeaway: In our current culture, churches have become very casual and hardly seem to worship God with reverence and awe when gathering for Sunday morning services. But we can join with the psalmist. We can go to church this week with a longing to be in the presence of God, submitted to God’s righteous reign in our lives. 

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

Meditations on the Psalms

August 4, 2022

Your Face Is Shining With The Brightness Of His Face

The Lord is my shepherd;

I have all that I need.

Psalm 23:1

Psalm 23 has been a bedrock for my faith for many, many years. Recently, as I have been reflecting on the magnificent prose of this psalm, what struck me is that David was not speaking theoretically about God. David was affirming his experience of God.

David personally knew God as his shepherd as he had experienced God providing for him; leading him to green pastures and still waters; restoring his soul and leading him to righteous living. In times of great peril, David experienced God with him, protecting and comforting him. Even as David’s enemies scoffed at him, David experienced God providing abundantly for him, and giving him the assurance that he would dwell with the Lord forever.

The concept of Jesus as the Good Shepherd resonates within my soul, and I am drawn to passages such as John 10 where Jesus talks of himself as the Shepherd and his followers as his sheep. God has used the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15 to often remind me he will never, ever, give up on me. You can find images of The Shepherd, and the scenes of Psalm 23, throughout the New Testament. As an example, in Mark’s description of the feeding the five thousand (Mark 6:30-43) “Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass.” For me, this invokes images of the “green pastures” in Psalm 23:2.

The most pervasive theme of the Bible is God’s longing for His people to know, and to experience, how much He loves us. I believe when God’s love truly penetrates our soul, when we experience His love, a miracle takes place. The Apostle Paul describes the miracle this way, “Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him” (2 Corinthians 3: 18, The Message).

How can we move toward such intimacy with God? Psalm 23 is a very good place to start because what was true for David can be true for us; we too can experience God just as David did.  Each day we can focus on one verse and note how we have experienced God as our Shepherd, leading us, providing for us, comforting us, and overflowing our cup. If a personal experience doesn’t come readily to mind, ask the Lord to manifest His presence in your life so that you may experience His goodness and grace.

My Takeaway: Let’s spend a week with our Shepherd; meditating on one verse each day. I bet we won’t be surprised if along the way someone observes our face is shining with the brightness of His face.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

To Know God As Our Strength

Meditations on the Psalms 

August 3, 2022

To Know God As Our Strength

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Psalm 22:1

It is not just the opening line in Psalm 22 that connects this psalm to the crucifixion of Jesus. Throughout this psalm we can see Jesus on the Cross and we can see the people gathered around Jesus. See the crowd scorning the psalmist in v. 6-8 and compare with Matthew 27:39-43; the gambling for garments in v.18 and compare with John 19:23-24. Also consider the psalmist’s cry in v. 15, “My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth” and Jesus’ cry, “I thirst” in John 19:28. As you read the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion you will see even more parallels. Both Matthew and the writer of Hebrews proclaim that Jesus fulfilled this psalm. Why should that be significant to us today? I can suggest three reasons.

First, all of the Gospel writers want us to know that Jesus, who was crucified, dead and buried, was the Messiah of God, the One the scriptures promised would come and save Israel, save the world. By connecting the events in the life of Jesus to Old Testament prophesies, we can see God at work fulfilling His plan to redeem the world.

Secondly, the psalm points to the coming again of Jesus in final victory. (Psalm 22:27-28) As followers of Jesus, it is important for us to always be mindful that Jesus isn’t finished with his work. He will complete the restoration of God’s Kingdom on earth, and we get to be co-laborers with him in that work.

Lastly, we may experience times of great trial, suffering and distress in our lives. In such times, Jesus is our model. As we yield ourselves to him, he will empower us to follow his path that was prophesied in Psalm 22.

My Takeaway: Like Jesus, we can openly acknowledge to God our sense of despair, remember God’s past care for our lives, embrace the reality of our circumstances, and know God as our strength who comes quickly to our aid. Then we can say with the psalmist,

“I will praise you in the great assembly.

I will fulfill my vows in the presence

of those who worship you.”

Psalm 22:25 

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Like the King, We Trust In the Lord

Meditations on the Psalms 

August 2, 2022

Like the King, We Trust In the Lord

 

For the king trusts in the Lord.

    The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.

Psalm 21:7

In northern Israel, Tel Megiddo overlooks the Jezreel Valley. This place is better known to Christians by its Greek name, Armageddon. In ancient times, Megiddo was an important city-state. Excavations have discovered many layers of ruins, indicating a long period of settlement. Megiddo is strategically located at the hub of trade routes for three civilizations: Europe; Asia and Africa. Israel’s central location made it a prized possession in ancient times and was thus the place of constant battles between competing nations.

Warfare was part of the fabric of life for the Israelites, and much of the Old Testament reflects the imagery of war. Psalm 21 was probably written in anticipation of a battle. At the core of Israel’s national identity was a belief that she had been called to be the people of God. Through her covenant with God, she understood herself to be the Divine Army used by God to execute judgment upon the sinfulness and idolatry of other nations. The two parts of this psalm reflect on God’s affirmation of Israel and God’s judgment of evil.

This psalm is also understood as being fulfilled by Jesus in his epic battle against sin and death. The climax of this battle was on the Cross where Jesus encountered the full wrath of the forces of evil. But God is stronger than evil, and Jesus’ resurrection destroyed the power of evil to bind God’s children with a yoke of sin and death. Hallelujah!

Although the power of evil has been broken, the forces of evil still wage war against God’s people and God’s creation. Unlike Israel, the Christian church does not see herself as the Divine Army used by God to execute judgment upon the sinfulness and idolatry of others. As the followers of Jesus, we look to Jesus, who fulfilled the Old Covenant and ushered in the New Covenant, to show us how to respond to the forces of evil. Having the same mind as Christ (see Philippians 2:5-11), we go into our world armed with truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the word of God, and prayer (Ephesians 6:12-18).

My Takeaway: The king in Psalm 21 affirmed that as he trusted in the Lord: the unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling. The writer of Hebrews gives us a similar assurance in Hebrews 12:1-2, “. . . let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Amen!

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

The Greatest Gift We Can Give To God

Meditations on the Psalms 

August 1, 2022

The Greatest Gift We Can Give To God

Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,

    but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.

Psalm 20:7 (NRSV)

The writer of Hebrews teaches us that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews11:6). What does it mean to pray in faith? Jesus teaches us that even through small faith, God will accomplish mighty things. What does this faith look like? How can we incorporate Godly faith into our prayers? Psalm 20 shows us how!

Psalm 20 begins with a benediction, a blessing. In the first five verses, the writer pronounced blessings upon the people. His blessings incorporated the character, the very nature of God. That’s a powerful example of faith because the psalmist is affirming God’s character will be made real in the lives of God’s people. The Apostle Paul teaches us this same principle. Today, we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). We may not always look like it; we may not always act like it; nevertheless, it is the truth. God has made us right with Him through our faith in Christ. Our life’s mission is to learn to live out of the truth of who we are!  

This psalm was written by David in preparation for a battle. He was leading his men into battle, and he prepared them by pronouncing God’s blessing upon them. David affirmed his faith that as he went forth to do God’s work, God’s favor went with him. He believed he was assured of victory: “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7).

My Takeaway: This psalm models for us that the greatest gift we can give to God is to believe we are who He says we are, and that He is faithful to fulfill all of His promises. 

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.